© Reuters. Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Joachim Nagel, German Federal Reserve Chairman Bundesbank, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, and the Government of the Bank of Japan
By Trevor Honeycutt
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leaders of the Group of Seven countries are set to issue a statement of concern about China’s use of economic pressure abroad when they meet next week, a U.S. official familiar with the discussions said.
The statement, a potential component of the public statement leaders will issue during the May 19-21 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, is expected to be coupled with a broader written proposal on how the seven advanced economies can work together to counter “economic coercion” from any country.
The G7 keynote statement is set to include a “section on China” with a list of concerns that include “economic coercion and other behavior we’ve seen specifically from (the People’s Republic of China),” according to the official.
The source said the “separate Economic Security Statement will talk more about the tools” used to counter those efforts, including planning and coordination. In each case, these statements are expected to go further than previous statements by the G7 on the subject.
US President Joe Biden has made China the centerpiece of his foreign policy, working to keep the tense and competitive relationship from descending into open conflict, including over autonomous Taiwan.
The G-7, which also includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, is economically closely linked to China, the world’s largest exporter and a key market for many of its companies.
